September - October 2007: Soldiers of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment fire grenades and automatic weapons from their bunker in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: Soldiers of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment fire grenades and automatic weapons from their bunker in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: US forces bomb an insurgent position with phosphorus in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: US forces bomb an insurgent position with phosphorus in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: Soldiers of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment run to a sniper position for a counter attack after being overrun by militants during a combat operation above the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: Soldiers of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment run to a sniper position for a counter attack after being overrun by militants during a combat operation above the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: A US helicopter lands to pick up an American commander, after a meeting in the wake of US bombing of Yaka China village in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: A US helicopter lands to pick up an American commander, after a meeting in the wake of US bombing of Yaka China village in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: A mortar company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment returns fire from the Kop base, the main US base in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around this valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: A mortar company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment returns fire from the Kop base, the main US base in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around this valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: A soldier of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment shouts out to his gunner while preparing grenades in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: A soldier of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment shouts out to his gunner while preparing grenades in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: Grenades marked by a soldier of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: Grenades marked by a soldier of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: Soldiers of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment drag an injured comrade to shelter under fire in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: Soldiers of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment drag an injured comrade to shelter under fire in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: A doctor of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment treats an injured soldier while under attack in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: A doctor of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment treats an injured soldier while under attack in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: A wounded child is carried from a house, following the US air strike targeting insurgents in Yaka Chin village, Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: A wounded child is carried from a house, following the US air strike targeting insurgents in Yaka Chin village, Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

September - October 2007: An American soldier checks a thermal imaging machine near Kop, the main US base in the Korengal Valley in north-eastern Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around this valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Vanity Fair

2007

September - October 2007: An American soldier checks a thermal imaging machine near Kop, the main US base in the Korengal Valley in north-eastern Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around this valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.
Brandon Olson, Specialist of Second Platoon, Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment sinks onto an embankment in the Restrepo bunker at the end of the day. The Korengal Valley was the epicenter of the US fight against militant Islam in Afghanistan and the scene of some of the deadliest combat in the region.

Vanity Fair

16-09-2007

Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.
Brandon Olson, Specialist of Second Platoon, Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment sinks onto an embankment in the Restrepo bunker at the end of the day. The Korengal Valley was the epicenter of the US fight against militant Islam in Afghanistan and the scene of some of the deadliest combat in the region.

September - October 2007: A doctor of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment treats

September - October 2007: A doctor of Battle Company of the Second Battalion of the US 503rd Infantry Regiment treats an injured soldier while under attack in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan. Nearly three-quarters of all bombs dropped by NATO forces in Afghanistan are dropped on and around the Korengal Valley. Yet much of the fighting is on foot, and ground gained is measured in yards, single hilltops, small patches of forest.

This image is collected in

Tim Hetherington

About the photographer

Tim Hetherington

Tim Hetherington (Liverpool, UK, 1970 - Misrata, Libya, 2011) studied literature at Oxford University and after traveling independently in China, India and Pakistan, initially worked in book publishing. In 1996, he changed profession to photography, through a post-graduate diploma course in photojournalism at the University of Wales Cardiff. Hetherington worked first for The Big Issue, a magazine sold by the homeless, and later as a regular contributor to The Independent newspaper. As a freelance photographer and filmmaker, Hetherington was interested in creating diverse forms of visual narratives from long-term projects. He spent eight years focused on stories in Africa, living in both Sierra Leone and Liberia. In Liberia he covered the Second Civil War behind the lines with rebel fighters, helping to film James Brabazon’s Liberia: An Uncivil War (2004).
Hetherington was a recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (2001-4), a Hasselblad Foundation grant (2002), and four World Press Photo awards (2000, 2002 and 2007). Hetherington was a participant in the 2002 World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. In 2008 Hetherington was named a contributing photographer to Vanity Fair. Restrepo, the documentary he made about the US-Afghanistan war with Sebastian Junger received many accolades including an Oscar nomination (2011) and Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary (2010).
Tim Hetherington was respected in the industry for being ahead of his time and for his ideas around what he called ‘transjournalism’ – working across media and distribution platforms to reach as broad an audience as possible. The multiple productions that resulted from his time in Afghanistan in 2007 are testament to his commitment making sure documentary work is seen, heard, read and felt.
Tim Hetherington was respected in the industry for being ahead of his time and for his ideas around what he called ‘transjournalism’ – working across media and distribution platforms to reach as broad an audience as possible. The multiple productions that resulted from his time in Afghanistan in 2007 are testament to his commitment making sure documentary work is seen, heard, read and felt.
While covering the conflict in Misrata, Libya, Tim Hetherington was killed on 20 April 2011.